Nonequilibrium thermodynamics and scale invariance

Leonid M. Martyushev, V. D. Seleznev

Published 2015-06-03Version 1

A variant of continuous nonequilibrium thermodynamic theory based on the postulate of the scale invariance of the local relation between generalized fluxes and forces has been proposed. This single postulate replaces the assumptions on local equilibrium and on the known relation between thermodynamic fluxes and forces, which are widely used in classical nonequilibrium thermodynamics. It has been shown that such a modification not only makes it possible to deductively obtain the main results of classical linear nonequilibrium thermodynamics, but also provides a number of statements for a nonlinear case (maximum entropy production principle, macroscopic reversibility principle, and generalized reciprocity relations) that are under discussion in the literature.